You are here

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) guidance

We adopted our Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule on 29 April 2014. This means that a flat fee can be charged for each square metre of floor area in new developments of eligible residential, convenience retail, student accommodation and care homes that are granted planning permission from 1 July 2014 onwards.

We have produced three Regulation 62 Reports. These set out how much we have collected through CIL.

The purpose of the community infrastructure levy is to raise funds from developers who are undertaking new building projects, to help pay for infrastructure that is needed to support new development. It can be used to fund a wide range of infrastructure including:

school, hospitals and other health and social care facilities

transport schemes

park, green spaces and leisure facilities

Our Regulation 123 List sets out the types of infrastructure that we will spend CIL on in our borough.

CIL replaces section 106 planning agreements for many forms of infrastructure, although section 106 agreements can still be used for site specific mitigation and to provide affordable homes.

CIL is calculated according to the following formula as set out in the Regulations:

R = Rate. The rate as set out in the Council's Charging Schedule above.
A = Area. The Gross Internal Area (GIA) of the development that is liable to pay the Levy.
Ip = Index figure for the year in which planning permission was granted
Ic = Index figure for the year in which the Charging Schedule was adopted

The Index is the All-In Tender Price Index, published by the Building Costs Information Service (BCIS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Liability to pay CIL is triggered on developments that include any new build - that is a new building or an extension - of 100 square metres, or more, of gross internal area (GIA), or any development that involves the creation of an additional dwelling, even when that is below 100 square metres of GIA.

Charges on floorspace contained in existing and/or demolished buildings will usually be deducted from the total CIL liability of a development. This is to ensure that charging CIL does not discourage the redevelopment of sites. However, to qualify for this discount the legislation requires the existing and/or demolished floorspace to have been in continuous lawful use for at least six months during the three years preceding the day on which planning permission first permits the chargeable development. The onus will be on the applicant to demonstrate that this criteria has been met before qualifying for a CIL discount.

Exceptional Circumstances Relief - The Council will publish an Exceptional Circumstances Statement on adoption of CIL. In very limited circumstances exceptional circumstances relief may be available from CIL but this may only happen if a S106 agreement has been entered into in respect of the planning permission which permits the chargeable development and the correct procedures in the Regulations are followed.

All planning applications must provide sufficient information to allow us to determine whether the development is liable to pay the levy and if so to calculate it accurately from the floor areas provided. This includes the submission of both existing and proposed floor plans for any CIL liable development. All applicants will also be required to submit the CIL Additional Information form to determine CIL liability.

Applicants should be aware that it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly supply information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a charging or collecting authority in response to a requirement under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations (2010) as amended. A person guilty of an offence under this regulation may face unlimited fines, two years imprisonment, or both.

You should also submit the Assumption of Liability form with your application. If these forms are missing from your application it may result in your application being invalid.

Again, we strongly encourage you to do this as early as possible, failure to complete and return the appropriate forms within the time limes specified in the Regulations will result in no CIL relief being granted.

Step 2 - Liability Notice

If planning permission is granted we will issue a CIL Liability Notice which will detail how much CIL will be payable.

Step 3 - Commencing Work on Site

If you are claiming any relief from CIL (as detailed in Step 1) this must also have been done before work starts. Failure to do this may result in the loss of the right to payment by instalments (where applicable) and the imposition of a surcharge.

Upon receipt of the Commencement Notice we will prepare and send a CIL Demand Notice detailing the amount of CIL payable and when it is due. If no-one has assumed liability to pay CIL before the Demand Notice is issued then the liability defaults to the owner(s) of the land.

If there have been any changes of circumstances regarding the liability of the person or party who has assumed liability to pay CIL you will need to submit either a Withdrawal of Assumption of Liability form or a Transfer of Assumed Liability form before the final payment of CIL is due.